Blood gas volatility poses well-known problems in the usual circumstances wherein a blood sample is taken at one location and transported for blood gas tests at a remote laboratory. It is also known that the volatility of gases in the blood can be reduced by lowering the temperature of the blood sample. In the past, blood gas volatility reduction has been accomplished in a haphazard manner as by placing a syringe contained blood sample on or within crushed ice. While a preferred practice may be to position the syringe within the ice, the common practice is to place the syringe on the ice. Clearly, this results in a less than optimum cooling of a blood sample and, accordingly, a less than optimum decrease in the volatility of the gases in the blood and maintaining of the integrity of its gas content. Further, the use of crushed ice requires some type of container or tray for the ice which contributes unnecessarily to bulk during transportation and produces an objectionable wetness in the laboratory.